Chapter 13

As soon as this was said, Li Shoucai, who was silent on the side, looked at his father with dissatisfaction.

Fields were the foundation of a farmer's life, and unless it was a last resort, they were generally reluctant to sell them.

To support his brother's studies, not only was the family's savings emptied, but even the family's fields couldn't be kept!

"Father, Brother is already in his thirties, and he's still a scholar; he probably won't pass this courtyard examination either." Li Shoucai endured and endured, but finally couldn't help but speak. "Don't ruin the family's fields; if the fields are gone, will our whole family drink the northwest wind?"

"Shoucai, how can you say such things!"

The Li Family Old Man opened his mouth and was about to scold him, but Li Shoude stood up and said: "Second Brother, how can you think like this? If I pass the imperial examination, won't you also share the glory!"

"That's right, that's right!" Zhu Shi also hurriedly stood up and grabbed her man. "Master, don't be confused; if Eldest Brother passes the imperial examination, you will be the scholar's brother; who would dare to look down on you outside?"

And she would be the scholar's sister-in-law; how much face would that have!

Li Shoucai whispered his lips and didn't speak again, but the look in his eyes when he looked at his father still carried some dissatisfaction.

Clearly, as sons of the Li family, the eldest brother could go to town to study and take the imperial examination, and the whole family didn't have to work in the fields. And him? Working in the fields every day, facing the loess and backing the sky, compared to his brother, it was simply one in heaven and one on earth.

The Li Family Old Man looked at his son's dissatisfied eyes, knowing that he had been unfair to him over the years, but with the Old Li family's savings, they could at most support one scholar.

In the end, he let out a long sigh: "Sigh, Shoude, rest well for a few days when you get home, we'll think of a way for the money slowly."

After speaking, there was no more.

The old woman saw that the whole family was silent, so she got up and called Zhu Shi to go to the kitchen together.

Sun Shi saw the mother-in-law leave, immediately moved to sit beside the younger sister Xiufang, and took out a small box of rouge from under the bundle of cloth and stuffed it into Li Xiufang's hand.

"Younger sister, this is the rouge and powder I bought for you in the county seat; the wives and young ladies of those big families all use this style, it's very expensive!"

Li Xiufang was surprised and happy when she heard this, and was about to open the rouge box: "Sister-in-law, if I apply this rouge and powder, will I be the same as those young ladies of big families, and be able to marry those high-ranking officials?"

"Oh my, younger sister, you are so beautiful; if you apply this rouge and powder, you will definitely be able to fascinate those rich people!" Sun Shi laughed a few times, but a trace of mockery flashed in her eyes.

Some cheap rouge and powder that no one wanted could make the younger sister, a country person who had never seen the world, smile; it wasn't a loss.

"Younger sister, when your brother passes the imperial examination, I will buy you rouge and powder every day in the future, let you dress up beautifully, and marry a good family!" Sun Shi continued to say without changing her expression. "When you sleep with Mother at night, mention it a few more times in her ear; your brother is old, if he doesn't pass this time, I'm afraid there will be no hope in the future..."

"Mm-hmm, I understand, I'll tell Mother tonight, she listens to me the most!"

"And, if the money really can't be scraped together..." Sun Shi said this, looked at the old man on the side who was puffing on his dry tobacco with a bitter face, and lowered her voice: "For the money, we have other ways to scrape it together."

"What way?" Li Xiufang asked blankly.

"You come closer, I'll tell you in detail..."

At night.

In the main room of the Li family.

"What did you say! You found a good marriage for Er Ya?" The Li Family Old Woman turned over and sat up from the kang, as if afraid she had misheard.

"Sister-in-law told me this during the day." Li Xiufang nodded. "That's a rich family in the county seat; they have a mansion! As long as Er Ya is married over, they are willing to give a dowry of ten taels of silver!"

"Ten taels of silver!! So much?!" Even the Li Family Old Man on the side sat up from the bed in shock.

"Is there really such a good thing?" The old woman's eyes rolled around, and then she looked at her daughter. "Are your words true?"

Li Xiufang curled her lips: "If you don't believe it, ask Sister-in-law yourself tomorrow morning!"

"Oh my, my daughter, if there is such a good thing, why bother with that money-losing goods, it's the same if you marry over!" The old woman hurriedly said.

Seeing that Li Xiufang's eyes also lit up, she said: "Don't rush, wait until I ask your Sister-in-law clearly tomorrow!"

If there was really such a good thing, why didn't she marry her own daughter Li Jinfeng over?

Although the Li Family Old Woman was usually sharp and unreasonable, she still had the necessary heart.

At the same time.

Jiang Xiaoxiao, who had finished dinner, was lying on the comfortable and soft quilt with her mother.

They bought a lot of things in town during the day, oil, salt, and meat, so her mother didn't have to hide it like before when cooking, using all the green onions, ginger, garlic, and seasonings, making stir-fried eggplant and cabbage stewed pork, and steaming a whole pot of white rice!

Jiang Xiaoxiao was stuffed again.

But looking at the dilapidated beams above her head, she couldn't help but think of the plot in the original book.

It was June now, and when winter came, there would be a snow disaster here, and many unstable houses would be crushed by the heavy snow.

The small broken house they lived in certainly couldn't be spared, so she had to find a way to remind her mother to find someone to repair and strengthen this house.

"Mother, we earned so much money today, can we find someone to repair this house?" Jiang Xiaoxiao lay beside Jiang Wei and whispered.

"Not in a hurry." Jiang Wei shook her head.

"Mother, but—"

Just as Jiang Xiaoxiao was about to speak, Jiang Wei smiled and said: "Do you expect us to live in this broken house forever? Since we have money, why don't we build a new house in one go?"

"Build a new house?" Jiang Xiaoxiao's eyes lit up instantly. "This is good! With a new house, we can live more comfortably, so when are we going to build the house?"

"This can't be rushed; Mother needs time to plan it well."

Probably because she had been in the apocalypse for a long time, Jiang Wei didn't look down on these ancient mud adobe houses. Although blue brick tile houses were also good, she wanted to use modern cement and steel bars to build an impregnable house!

Only such a house could give her enough sense of security.

And there were cement and steel bars in her space; she had hoarded a lot when she was in the apocalypse, enough to build a small building!

It's just that she didn't know what excuse to use to take them out, and she had to find a way to make the money for building the house clear in the village...

The night grew deeper, and the mother and daughter gradually fell asleep in the fantasy of a new house.

A night without dreams.

Waking up early the next day, Jiang Xiaoxiao turned her head and saw her mother gargling in the courtyard, holding a bamboo toothbrush that looked ancient in texture but was clearly a modern product.

(End of chapter)